Psalm 73 Truly God is good to
Israel, to those who are pure in heart, But as for me, my feet
had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was
envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until
death, their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble
as others are. They are not stricken like the
rest of mankind. Therefore, pride is their necklace. Violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through
fatness. Their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice. Loftily, They threaten oppression. They set their mouths against
the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore,
His people turn back to them and find no fault in them. And they say, How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most
High? And behold, these are the wicked,
always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I
kept my heart clean, and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been
stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, I will speak thus,
I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I
thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then I discerned their
end. Truly, You set them in slippery
places. You make them fall to ruin. How
they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors. Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when You rouse Yourself, You despise them as phantoms. when my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually
with you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven
but you? And there is nothing on earth
that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far
from you shall perish. You put an end to everyone who
is unfaithful to you. But for me, it is good to be
near God. I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works. you